“Let Christ be the one who goes ahead, and you go after Him.”.
On Saturday, September 19, the priestly and diaconal ordination ceremony of two Legionaries of Christ took place in the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador, El Salvador. His Eminence, Salvadoran Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez, who presided over the celebration, began his homily by referring to St. Oscar Arnulfo Romero: “Why are we here? It is something unimaginable, we are not in Rome, nor in Monterrey, nor in Mexico, but here in this emblematic temple, which was the cathedral of Monsignor Romero and now houses his body in the crypt. Pope Francis would say that God always surprises us and asks us to let ourselves be surprised by God. This is the attitude of our ordinands today, and we have spoken about it in a personal meeting, something that fills us with great joy”.
Roberto Villatoro, L.C. was ordained a priest and Juan Carlos Arias, L.C. was ordained a deacon. Both were members of the ECYD in El Salvador.
His Eminence Gregorio Rosa Chavez, gave a message of humility to the ordinands, alluding to the reflection of St. Oscar Arnulfo Romero when in the Advent of 1978 he commented on the Gospel and included the words of St. Augustine: “John was the voice, but Christ was the Word”. “He left us this impressive reflection: all those who preach Christ are voice, but the voice passes, preachers die, John the Baptist disappears, only the Word remains, the Word remains, that is the great consolation of the one who preaches. My voice will disappear, but my word, which is Christ, will remain in the hearts that have wanted to receive it”. Having said this, he referred to the ordained and told them: “I know that you have come here with an open heart, your ears attentive to what the Lord wants to say to you today, God is certainly speaking to you”.
The Cardinal's message to Father Roberto Villatoro and Deacon Juan Carlos Arias focused on the love of Christ, on the humility of the Church's service to its people, on how to walk with Christ in front, carrying the cross, on becoming aware of oneself, and on the renewal that leads to seeking the way to respond to God's call.
In the ordination rite, after the Cardinal laid hands and anointed the ordained with the Holy Chrism, their parents went up to the altar to vest them with their new vestments.
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At the end of the celebration, Father Noel Quezada, L.C., superior of the Legionaries of Christ community in El Salvador, thanked Cardinal Rosa Chavez for having laid his hands on Roberto and Juan Carlos, especially in these times of pandemic. He thanked God for a new priest who will be able to distribute the bread of life to the faithful, and to the assistants who represent the Church that accompanies their pastors and prays for them. In a special way he thanked the parents of the ordained for having taught them the faith and that when God calls, we cannot resist him; and he invited them to continue talking and being close to them, because even though they have been ordained they will never cease to be his children.
Every year all the Legionaries of the world who have prepared to be ordained priests gather in Rome. On this occasion, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are being held in the country of each legionary. For health reasons, the Cathedral was only attended by family members, close friends of the ordained young men and some members of the local Regnum Christi El Salvador. The celebration was transmitted live from the Facebook page Legionaries of Christ Mexico and Central America and was simultaneously rebroadcast on the Facebook pages Regnum Christi El Salvador, Regnum Christi Mexico and Central America, Legionaries of Christ Monterrey Territory, EnMovimientoMx, Catholic.net, Somos RC and by Catholic Archdiocesan Television of El Salvador.
